Aston Villa v Celtic: Predictions, tips and bet builder as Scots look to end 54 years of hurt

Another big Champions League night awaits at Villa Park as Aston Villa welcome Celtic in their final bid to claim a top eight finish (Wednesday, 2000 GMT).
When Unai Emery’s men kicked off their European campaign with three straight wins, you’d think the club was in dream land.
As things stand, the Villans are very much awake as they look to shake off their dodgy form in pursuit of a potentially massive achievement.
The fact Villa are in this competition is extraordinary in itself. But a potential appearance in the Last-16 would be nothing short of historic.
Celtic will be looking to stop Emery’s men from realising their ambitions as they look to close the league phase on a winning note.
Here, we take a closer look at Wednesday’s fixture and pick out some of the best bets along the way.
Good luck and please gamble responsibly.
(All odds are correct at the time of article publication)
Aston Villa v Celtic 14/1 bet builder
Aston Villa to win and both teams to score – 19/10
Aston Villa to score the first goal – 4/9
Jhon Duran to score anytime – 17/20
Kasper Schmeichel +4 total saves – 4/9
Celtic to have most bookings – 17/20
Only one Scottish side has ever won an away game against English opposition in the old European Cup or the current Champions League. Any guesses?
It was Celtic, of course, who defeated Leeds United 1-0 back in 1970. Since then, the Scots have gone 54 years without getting that all-important win on English soil.
We expect that barren run to continue as the Hoops prepare to go head-to-head with Premier League opposition.
While we don’t mean to upset fans of Scottish football, we have to be brutally honest and say that the gap between Premiership and the Premier League is gargantuan.
Aston Villa should win this fixture nine times from every 10 – and should do so with goals to spare.
Celtic have only lost one game in the competition which was a 7-1 pasting away in Dortmund. Apart from that, you have to say that the Scots have been rather fortunate with the level of opposition.
Bar Atalanta and RB Leipzig, Brendan Rodgers’ side have taken on Slovan Bratislava, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb and Young Boys. The Hoops only beat two of those four sides.
Villa, on the other hand, have beaten Bayern Munich, held Juventus to a goalless draw, beat RB Leipzig away from home and fell to an agonisingly close 1-0 loss away in Monaco.
Bearing all that in mind, we’re backing the Villans to get the job done against Celtic. Over 2.5 goals and over 8.5 corners are both worthy of the bet builder in what we expect to be a busy game for Celtic’s defenders.
In terms of specific goal scorers, Jhon Duran sticks out. The Colombian is Villa’s top scorer in the Champions League with three efforts to his name.
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